Aston Villa were active in the winter market and Andrés García was one of the players to arrive at Villa Park.
The Villans took the right-back from second division Spanish side Levante UD for a fee of around £6m.
He’s played 447 minutes from seven games for Aston Villa so far and received his first call up from Spain’s U21s for March’s international break.
Spanish newspaper ABC interviewed García and one of the topics discussed was his decision to move to the Premier League club.
When asked about his transfer from a lower division side to a Champions League club, he said: “There was already talk and rumours of teams that wanted me in January, Betis, Sevilla, then Sporting Lisbon came with a lot of strength.
“Maybe it’s because they already wanted to have me in their dynamic to improve me, to take me little by little and to make me a footballer. I think that’s their idea.
“It’s happened this way because the transfer market moves things around a lot, but it’s the result of hard work and effort.”
Unai Emery, the majority of his coaching staff and Aston Villa director Monchi are all Spanish. In addition to this, Aston Villa have Spain internationals Marco Asensio and Pau Torres in the squad.
ABC asked the fullback how important Emery and Monchi were in his move to the English club.
“I knew that those in charge at Aston Villa were Spanish. The decision was easy because it couldn’t be better. The entire coaching staff is Spanish. There were also some super-class players like Dibu, Pau Torres, Asensio,” García explained.
“I’m surrounded by wonderful people. Everyone at the club. I didn’t expect such spectacular treatment. They take care of you like a child, offering you every convenience. The decision was very easy.”
Prior to joining Aston Villa, the 22-year-old spent his playing career in Spain. The reaction from the Villa supporters has left him surprised and the fullback mentioned this when asked about pressure on players.
“Yes. Football is experienced differently. From the first moment, you notice the extraordinary respect from the fans; I’d never seen that before,” he added.
“The first game I saw in the stands, there was a spectacular atmosphere. Even if a player made a mistake, everyone applauded him. I’d never seen that before. I thought the opposite, that with this change in level, the fans would push much harder.
“But no, the English fans have enormous respect; they experience football differently, and that also helps the players.”
